Home > Arrows and Arrow Making > Speed Coat Dipping System

It might seem odd, that a self confessed arrow buyer would review something you use when making arrows. I have never made secret of the fact that I have neither the time or patience let alone skill to make my own arrows. The thing is that I could stick a few points on the front and a few fletches on the back of a bit of wood without too much trouble, but I like my arrows to look good, have a nice finish and not look too terrible when I'm shooting them.

Having said all of that I have put together a couple of sets of arrows and as I'm a bit of a gadget freak I had to have all the kit to do so. That's how I ended up with the Speed Coat Dipping System. Dipping arrows is a messy business at the best of time and anything to improve the process must be worth the effort investing in. 

Just to be clear here and avoid confusion what I'm talking about here is in fact the combination of the Pro-Dipper dipping tube and the additional Speed Coat Dipping System gaskets. The idea behind the Pro-Dipper is that it holds plenty of paint/lacquer so that you don't have to keep topping up, the addition of the gaskets mean that any excess is removed from the arrow shafts quickly and this allows it to dry much quicker than normal.

I used the dipper to lacquer a set of hex shafts I was going to use, filling the Pro-dipper is easy as the top is nice and wide, if you are going to use the gaskets you need to fill almost to the brim as you will need to dip right to the end of the shaft to get full coverage. The gasket has a number of holes which you push the shaft through, then draw out in one quick and fluid motion. The gasket is rather tight so it does remove a lot of the lacquer and that means you need to put more coats than you might do without it. But this is not such an issue as by the time you have dipped a dozen arrows the shaft is dry and it's time for another application. 

Some people say you can just put the lid back on the Pro-Dipper and leave the paint/lacquer in the tube, I don't have the room to store it upright and I'm also not sure about leaving those sort of substances in a plastic tube for any serious length of time. I just emptied back in to the original tin and washed the Pro-Dipper under a warm tap and that worked fine. 

I'd definitely recommend the product, it did a great job and it was only my lack of experience that meant I didn't put enough layers on. I'd also suggest dipping at full length as you need something to hold on to which will stay out side of the gasket and therefore not get the same amount of lacquer. I also have the shorter dipper for cap dipping your arrows, I have this but have not used it as yet. 

 

Rating
Features & Design
It's a pretty simple system but the key is the size, meaning that you can dip plenty of arrows before you need to refill.Only real problem is the not being able to coat the whole arrow when using the gasket, but not sure what could be done to fix it.
Performance
Can't fault it really as it does exactly what it's supposed to do.
Value for Money
At getting on for $25 for the dipper and gasket set it's not cheap, but a wise investment if you make a lot of arrows.
Overall
All in all a great product which does a messy job without fuss. It will save you loads of time if you make a lot of arrows. If you make the odd set here and there I'm not sure it would be worth the expense.

 

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Steve Nicholson and Andy Gilfrin, are real archers interested in the best archery suppliers have to offer. In our search for the very best bow, arrows and equipment we have shot, used and worn pretty much everything on offer.

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Essential Details
What : Speed Coat Dipping System Price : $25

Simple to use.

Plently of spares and accessories are available.

Although much longer the small dipper surprisingly only takes a quarter of a pint less.

If you have enough you can cover more colours.

Magazine

July 2010 The Mary Rose story comes to life this month, when Steve and Andy went to visit archaeologist Alex Hildred and got our hands on 500 year old long bows (literally). We look at the battle of Vernuiel, Andy visits France on a peace mission and we talk to Sid at Border.


June 2010 Bumper edition this month, a pig in armour, Geoff towers direct from Homildon Hill and a look at the Mary Rose. There is also news of the UK Atlatl championships and all the usual regular items.


May 2010 This month sees the release of yet another Robin Hood film, to celebrate this months magazine is a Robin Hood special. We look at the man behind the legend with a couple of articles about the man and the period that gave rise to him. We also have an article on Little John, not Robin Hoods side kick but John Cately of Little John Arrow, he talks to us about his life in archery and the way he likes to make his arrows. 

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